Effect:
metabolism stimulating
Areas of application:
-
Plant parts used:
Fruits
Collection time:
July, August
To find:
Rarely found on rocky slopes, in warm bushes and on stony ground.
Ingredients:
Fructose, glucose, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, zinc, iron, copper phosphorus, glycosides (hydrocyanic acid) in leaves and kernels
Other:
The Snowy mespilus is a thornless, heavily branched shrub with a dense crown that can reach a height of 2 to 3 meters, rarely even up to 6 meters. The trunks are rarely thicker than 5 centimeters. They arise in several to many branches close together from the basal part of the main axis, which is usually horizontal in the ground. The slender branches, which have reddish-brown bark and woolly-felt hairs when they first sprout, quickly become bare. The alternate leaves are egg-shaped to obovate or elliptical, rounded, sometimes slightly heart-shaped, and grow on leaf stalks up to 15 mm long. The leaf margin is usually serrated, the leaf tip is rounded to blunt or pointed, sometimes indented or spiny-pointed. The serviceberry is characterized by the orange to dark red autumn coloring of its leaves. The terminal, upright, short, hairy racemose inflorescence consists of three to ten flowers that develop between April and May, before the leaves sprout. The fragrant flowers arise from white, felt-like buds, the scales of which bear fine eyelashes. The terminal bud is usually spindle-shaped. The stalked, hermaphrodite, radially symmetrical, and five-petaled flowers have a five-petaled, green, more or less hairy calyx. There is a small, slightly hairy floral cup. The snow-white, spreading petals, which are hairy on the underside, are narrowly obovate. They usually develop a pink tint at the tips. The petals surround around 20 stamens, which in turn surround the five short, free styles of the flower. The small, spherical, frosted apple fruits ripen in July to August. The fruit diameter is around 1 cm. When ripe, the fruits are dark red to black-blue. They usually contain ten dark brown, crescent-shaped, shiny seeds. (Partly Wikipedia)
🛑 Leaves and seeds contain small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides (hydrocyanic acid). After eating unripe fruits and/or large amounts of chewed seeds, gastrointestinal complaints can occur. However, after accidentally biting into a few seeds, no symptoms of poisoning are to be expected, similar to apple seeds, which also contain cyanogenic glycosides.
The fruits are used to make jam, jelly or liqueur. Due to the vitamin C content and the many minerals, it is easy for the body to utilize.